Day 50: Festivities in Toyohashi
Yesterday I left Gamagori and continued on my route to Toyohashi, arriving late in the afternoon. I had booked a room a few days in advance, and paid a frustrating premium for it. The room wasn't fancy, it was just a standard business hotel, but it seemed to be one of the few options even remotely close to my price range. One bed for me, and one for my pack. Dropping my pack in my room, I returned to the street in search of food only to find the once unremarkable street in from of my hotel now bustling with men in LED vests directing traffic and blocking off roadways. It was a dramatic scene, and I didn't know what to make of it. At the corner a police car with lights flashing, and an automated message blaring over the loudspeaker but meaning nothing to me. Not knowing what to make of things, or having any particular direction in mind, I followed the flow of pedestrians, which had now appeared in droves. The flow lead not far, down the block to a left, then a qui